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More desserts with strange names...

Mario just did a segment on Food Network with a recipe called virgin's breasts. Eric Ripert has nun's farts in his book and Nancy Silverton has nun's breasts. Any other strange desserts out there that you've heard of?

Pamela Wilkinsonwww.portlandfood.orgLife is a rush into the unknown. You can duck down and hope nothing hits you, or you can stand tall, show it your teeth and say "Dish it up, Baby, and don't skimp on the jalapeños."

Occasionally, I entertain a few thought-experiments in the area of peculiar dessert names. Always, beignets soufflés are the first to come to mind. Students of the far side of culinary French recognize them as pets-de-nonne – the “nun-farts” you’ve mentioned to instigate this thread.

Of course, chocolate vermicelli is an odd name as well, when you realize that "vermicelli" translates as "worms!"

Not so odd, but rather quaint, is the too-rarely-prepared fluff of caramel-coated pastry w/ a heart of crème brûlée known as puits d'amour. Religieuse translates directly as "nun," and is a classic pastry that resembles a nun in her habit. Then there are the Italian cookies called brutti ma buoni – “ugly but good” and the more commonly known ossa di morte, aka "bones of the dead." Also, baci di Giulietta & baci di Romeo are delightfully playful names for sweet biscuits. Perhaps we might also include pane coi Santi, i.e., "bread w/ saints."

Italian dessert cookery comprises a host of fancifully named items. Another being Bocca di Dama, "mouth of a lady." The Italians produce a witchy liqueur, STREGA.

The long rectangular puff pastry named jalousie means, w/ good reason, "venetian blind." Kadin göbegi literally translates as "lady's navel." Kab el ghzal is rendered as "gazelles' horns." Langues de chat are those delicate French "cat's tongues." Reine de Saba, not so weird, but mythical-sounding nonetheless, is that dense, rich, moist chocolate-and-almond cake, "Queen of Sheba."

Oh, I've just recalled another comical "nun" pastry: Barriga de Freira; this one is from the Portuguese and spells out as "nun's belly."

Pfeffernüsse, when you think of it, is humorous...Peppernuts! And, pierogi are Polish "pockets." And how about the cobbler known as "grunt" for an appetizing-sounding dessert? Or those Indian sweetmeats, referred to as "barfi?" On second thought....

The Japanese must have a huge lexicon of bizarre culinary terms. I immediately think of Shabu shabu, the name of a dish which actually comes from the steaming sound of the food being cooked; the Japanese hearing "shabu, shabu" from the hissing vents. Speaking of steamed, there's a Thai steamed custard named Sankhaya. I wonder what that term means in English. Or that Sri Lankan coconut custard known as Vattalappam?

Breasts seems to be an ongoing theme -- perhaps patissiers spend too much time with their craft and not enough with their wives. I had a traditional dessert in Athens a couple of nights ago called, roughly "Turkish woman's small breasts." I have no idea what the original Greek was.

Many Lebanese desserts are named after women's body parts, you have "lady fingers/bride's fingers" that refer to a baklava-like pastry that has a tube shape. Another one called "Zind El Sit" roughly translates to "the ladies arm", these are phylo wrapped around a cream filling and deep fried then drizzled with syrup.
Other non-feminin dessert names include "Lokmat El Kadi" or "The judge's bite", small fried dumplings soaked in syrup. We also have "Kol Wi Shkor" or "Eat and Thank" a nut filled dessert.

I've always been a bit weirded out by the idea of a "tete de negre" (negro's head), which is a hollow sphere of crispy sweet meringue (or two half-spheres sandwiched together?) coated in chocolate buttercream and rolled in chocolate sprinkles.

It's been awhile since I looked at the recipe, but if I remember right a nun's fart is a light pate choux dough that is deep fried.

Pamela Wilkinsonwww.portlandfood.orgLife is a rush into the unknown. You can duck down and hope nothing hits you, or you can stand tall, show it your teeth and say "Dish it up, Baby, and don't skimp on the jalapeños."

I had forgotten the Nipples of Venus. That was a funny episode. Thanks for the replies! Some interesting stuff!

Pamela Wilkinsonwww.portlandfood.orgLife is a rush into the unknown. You can duck down and hope nothing hits you, or you can stand tall, show it your teeth and say "Dish it up, Baby, and don't skimp on the jalapeños."

Combine 4 oz. water with butter & salt in saucepan and bring to boil. Remove from heat and add flour all at once. Stir vigorously until mixture leaves sides of pan and forms a ball around the spoon. (If a ball does not form almost immediately, hold saucepan over low heat and beat briskly a few seconds. Cool slightly.)

Add eggs, one at a time, and beat vigorously until mixture is smooth and glossy after both additions. Add orange oil or rum, if desired, and beat again.

Add oil for deep-frying to a wok, heavy skillet, or deep fryer to a depth of about 2 inches. Heat to 360° F. Drop dough by tablespoons into hot fat. Fry until browned on all sides and center is cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Fry and test one first to determine approximate cooking time. Drain on unglazed brown paper. Serve hot, sprinkled with powdered sugar.

[Classic Beignets are, of course, yeast-raised fried breads.]

Last evening, while musing on the subject of fried breads, I thought of those delightful little doughnuts known as Zeppole. (They're a toothsome specialty of Naples.) I have a recipe at hand if you're intrigued.

The Two Fat Ladies did a show featuring Nipples of Venus. They used fraise de bois for the actual nipples, which appeared centered on a strawberry-Cinzano cream concoction.

A friend of mine once did a dessert he called Surprise Surprise, which was a balsamic ice cream featuring garlic-roasted peanuts. Good name, really.

I made these for a VM cast party one time (my girflriend at the time didn't cook and was one of the narrators). They were a hit at the party, and after dropping them off I was invited to stay, but there was too much progesterone in the air for me...

It was interesting trying to make them in a dormitory kitchen with only the front desk's cooking utensils...

Surprise Surprise reminds me of the old gag about "Tuna Surprise"

I always attempt to have the ratio of my intelligence to weight ratio be greater than one. But, I am from the midwest. I am sure you can now understand my life's conundrum.

I don't know if this is exactly on-topic, but one bakery I worked at had a popular Halloween
tradition of selling "GingerDead Men". We would cut out the gingerbread man shapes and then
"kill" them. Cut off their heads.....use a toy car to put tire tracks across them as if they'd been
run over. Amputate a few. Pipe some nooses around their necks. Stab a couple. It was great
fun. Customers loved them, and a great stress outlet for us bakers too.

Mark Sommelier, thank you apprising us of that sly bit of trivia. I had not known of it until now. However, please do not think that I have any intention of disputing the authenticity of your reference, but might you agree that it is perhaps somewhat more appropriate to signify the gasp of air as a "monk's fart?" (Especially when we consider, for example, Dom Perignon.) Also, from a sheer technical angle, a true lover of champagne does not let the cork pop, as too much carbonic gas & flavour escape the bottle. Nonetheless, I'll always find genuine humour when recalling your reference to flatulent abbesses!